Frame with decorator panel



April 29, 1969 J. F. WEAVER '3,440,786

' FRAME WITH DECORATOR PANEL Filed June 28, 1967 f 7a L a 2 Z L l 3 i 7i, f7

United States Patent O 3,440,786 FRAME WITH DECORATOR PANEL Joseph F. Weaver, Hazelwood, Mo., assignor to K-S-H, Inc., a corporation of Missouri Filed June 2s, 1967, senNo. 649,578 Int. Cl. E04c 1/12; B44t` 7/00, 9/00 U.S. Cl. 52-311 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention The hinged panel of this invention has particular utility as a decorative interior shutter, Ibut its utility is not confined thereto. It can be used in the construction of interior doors, screens and the like. Multileaved interior shutters are popular and useful, but they have been diflicult to t"and install. Their construction has precluded a prenishing of the elements which make up the shutters, because exposed long edges have had to be planed, sawed, mortised or otherwise operated upon in a way which did not permit preinishing.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide panels made up of elements so constructed as to permit their being prenished and yet adjusted in height and width so as to permit their fitting and assembly by inexperienced and unskilled persons. e

Other objects will become apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the following description and accompanying drawing.

Summary of the invention In accordance with this invention, generally stated, a panel is provided which comprises joined prenished stiles and vprefinished rails all having a central panel-receiving groove along one long inside face. The rails are thinner than the stiles and the stiles are elongated and have angesflanking the central groove to define a rail end-receiving channel on the long inside face of the stiles. The rails are mounted at their ends between the flanges. On the long outside -face of the stiles opposite the grooved and flanged face, the stiles are rabbeted asymmetrically in such a way as to permit the mounting of butt hinges without mortisng. A panel, preferably a plastic decorator panel, is seated in the groove which, when the rails and stiles are assembled, extends all the way around the inside surface of the panel frame. In the preferred embodiment, one of the rail elements is arcuate on its inside edge, but the groove in that curved face has a linear bottom defining wall so that the groove will accomodate a square-ended decorator panel. When the panel is used in the production of a tall, multileaved door, for example, one or more rails can be mounted intermediate the ends of the stiles, so as to define two or more decorator panelframing areas.

Brief description of the drawing In the drawing, FIGURE 1 is a view in front elevation of a plurality of hinged panels of this invention mounted as interior shutters in a window;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2 2 of FIGURE 1;

3,440,786 Patented Apr. 29, 1969 ice FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3 3 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded view of a panel in the process of assembly;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5 5 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6 6 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 7 is an exploded fragmentary view in perspective of rail and stile members in the process of assembly; and

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of a portion of a panel used as a leaf of a multileaved door.

Description ofthe preferred embodiments Referring now to the drawing, particularly to FIG- URES 1 through 7, for one illustrative embodiment of panel of this invention, reference numeral 1 indicates an individual panel, with a frame 5 and a center decorator panel 50. The frame 5 is rnade up of stiles and rails. The frames of the left and rightmost panels shown in FIG- URE 1 are made up of a left stile 10, a right stile 20, a top rail 30, and a bottom rail 40. 'Ihe other two have two right stiles 20. For purposes of explanation, although the left stile and the right stile are identical, the left stile 10 will be described as one in which a butt hinge is accommodated with its pintle toward the front of the panel and the right stile, as one in which a butt hinge is accommodated with its pintle tow-ard the back of the panel.

Each of the stiles 10 and 20 has, along an inside long surface, a `decorator panel-receiving groove 12, and llanges 14 and 15 flanking the groove 12 on either side, and defining between them, with a bottom wall 16, a rail receiving channel 25. Two side faces 26 and 27 of the stiles are profiled to give a pleasing esthetic appearance. The outer edge of the stiles is rabbeted to produce a hinge receiving face 17 and a hinge concealing and stop rib 18. As can be seen particularly in FIGURES 2, 3 and 5, the rabbet is asymmetrical, so that the rib 18 is closer to the face 27 than it is to the face 26.

In effect, since the inner face of the stiles is symmetrical about the central groove, the stile 10 is merely turned end for end with respect to the stile 20 or vice versa.

As can be seen from FIGURES 2, 3, 5 and 7, the rails 30 and 40 are thinner than the stiles 10 and 20, being of a thickness to fit closely but easily between the flanges 14 and 15 and in the channel 25 of the stiles.

The rail 40 is rectangular in both side and end elevation, and has a panel receiving groove running lengthwise through the center of one long narrow edge.

The upper rail 30 in the embodiment shown has a straight outside face 31, and an arcuate inside face 33, with a groove 32 running lengthwise in the center of the arcuate face. The groove 32 has a linear bottom wall, as indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 4. On those panels which are to be hinged either to some supporting structure or to another panel, hinges 70 are mounted on the hinge surface 17 of the stile, with their knuckles and pintles spaced outboard of the arris between the surfaces 17 and 26.

The embodiment of panel shown in FIGURE 8 is particularly suitable for use as a door panel, with long stiles 10 and 20 and upper and lower decorator panels 50 separated by an intermediate lock rail 140. The lock rail is rectangular in side elevation, is substantially wider than the bottom rail 40 of the first embodiment, and is provided with a decorator panel-receiving groove along both its top and bottom surfaces. An upper rail 30, not here shown, completes the upper part of the frame and a lower rail, also not here shown, which, in this door panel, is preferably another relatively wide rail 140, com- 3 pletes the lower part of the frame. A handle 60 is mounted in the center of a broad face of the lock rail 140.

In fitting and assembling the panel of this invention, particularly in such an application as the shutter shown in FIGURE 1, the desired height and width of the panels is determined by measuring. The stiles are then cut ot to the desired height, which can be done along the edge which is to be at the bottom of the stile when that edge is not going to be in evidence, or along the top, if that edge will not be seen in use. The lower rail 40 can be cut off at either end to the desired width. The upper rail 30 should be cut at both ends an equal amount, so as to center the apex of the arcuate surface between stiles. The cut pieces are then put into the position shown in FIG- URE 4, the rails moved toward one another until the panel edges are seated in the grooves, and the stiles are then moved in until the panel edges seat in their grooves and the ends of the rails are seated in the rail-receiving channels 25. The rails and stiles can be fastened together 'by any suitable means. One of the simplest and most satisfactory, is by drilling and counter sinking holes to receive flat head screws, which are screwed through the stiles and into the rails. However, the stiles and rails can be glued or nailed, stapled or doweled, or fastened in any other common way. The cut ends of the rails 30 and 40 will be concealed by the tlanges 14 and 15. Accordingly, the only surface that will have been disturbed and which will be exposed, among the pretinished surfaces of the stiles and rails, are ends of the stiles, which in almost every practical case, will not be exposed to view. In fact, the height of panels of this sort is generally standard, the adjustment having to be made in the width, to accommodate various widths of door or window openings.

The panel 50 is preferably a plastic decorator panel, which has been found particularly suitable for the purpose.

The tting and assembly of the panel of the multileafed door embodiment shown in FIGURE 8, is self evident from the explanation of the fitting and assembly of the embodiment sho-wn in FIGURES 1-7.

Numerous variations in the construction of the panels of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure. Merely by Way of example, the rails can be scalloped or otherwise proliled in side elevation, or they may be provided with flanges corresponding to the anges 14 and 15, though tting within the confines of the anges 14 and 15, to make them more nearly of the same appearance between the decorator panel and the side surfaces. The ,shape of the rib 18 and its placement can be changed. These are merely illustrative.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A prefinished panel comprising joined prenished stiles and prenished rails all having a central .panel-receiving groove along. one long inside face, said rails being thinner than said stiles and said stiles being elongated and having flanges anking said groove to define a rail end-receiving channel on said long inside face, said rails being mounted at their ends between said flanges and said stiles having an asymmetric rabbet along a long outside face opposite the said inside face, and a decorator panel seated in said groove.

2. The panel of claim 1 wherein one rail has an arcuate inner face and a linear bottomed groove.

3. The panel of claim 1 wherein rails are joined to the stiles intermediate the ends of the stiles and also at the ends, and a plurality of decorator panels are mounted between the rails.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 927,205 7/ 1906 Allen 52-495 X 1,272,864 7/1918 Schoening et al. 160-206 1,533,881 4/1925 Malarkey 52-455 2,923,027 2/1960 Bury 160-117 X 3,121,263 2/1964 Binner 52-455 X FOREIGN PATENTS 9,316 5/1905 Great Britain.

ALFRED C. PERHAM, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

